~Fiona Gypsy Bunting~

As you know,i love a bit of upcycling!!! I think it is something that has always been in me since a child in one way or another.Some of you may remember the days of the tv show Blue Peter? I would love this programme,however my mum{who i seem to remember was always in the kitchen cooking tea at Blue Peter o’clock},must have kept glancing at the nearly full fairy liquid bottle and thinking,oh please don’t let it be that which is needed this week! Let it be the egg boxes,they’re empty….!

But these kind of programmes inspired me to CREATE,to recreate,to recycle,upcycle,and…have fun in the process!

I was very Blessed in that my father was also quite creative,and liked nothing better than to sit at the kitchen table with me,both of us surrounded by news papers,cardboard,boxes,empty containers,glue…anything and everything we had that we could craft and create with! I remember making all kinds of things from the things that would be thrown away otherwise,and i really loved those times spent as a child…….

Later on as a teenager,more into art and painting and drawing by that time,i also discovered my mums sewing machine! Put my mums sewing machine together with learning how to use it in sewing lessons at school and i was,well,kind of excited! Put that together with me having what some called a ‘strange’ dress sense{possibly still have that 😉 }…… and i realised i could cut up clothing,re-use it,re-design and make it into something completely different!

Around that time time i also discovered a whole new way of finding and buying clothing that wasn’t in every high street shop and that wasn’t as pricey as those either!

Jumble sales!!!!!!!! Oh wow,i loved them! They were at our local village halls quite regularly,at church halls and other local events,i forget exactly how i ended up at my first visit to one,but after that i was hooked! For a small amount of change paid on the door you gained entry to a wonderful,crazy,busy and totally random half hour or so..or as long as it took to run out of money 😉 I loved how it was all just piled all over the tables,strewn over chairs,door ways,any where and everywhere there was space,there was ‘jumble’.But it wasn’t jumble..it was treasure!!! I would go with whatever money i had and leave with bags filled with the most wonderful treasure,treasure i could take home,alter and make into other treasure,or treasure i could just wear with something i already had and make totally bizzare outfit that would not be found on the high street..yes…i LOVED it! The only problem with jumble sales was,they were usually held during school hours,but there was no way i would miss one,so yes,i would be a ‘little late’ for school on those days 😉

So as I’m sure you are aware,recycling/upcycling has been around for a long time in various ways,and once you start you are hooked! I cannot pass many second hand sales,flea markets etc without being drawn into them to see what treasure they hold.It is a battle indeed to walk past any items that ‘shout’ to me,that i can visualise being made beautiful! I have as i’m sure most artisans/artists/crafters do,limited space! There is only so much i can upcycle and keep as mine around my home.So rather than not keep this passion going,i am incorporating this passion into my new venture,Bohemian Blessed.I already have several upcycling projects on the go,including bowls,and small items of furniture.One i have just completed is in the photographs at the top of this page,a wooden candlestick.I came across this solid but sad looking candlestick and immediately knew what i wanted to do with it,and i am really pleased with how it turned out,even lovelier than the vision i had for it!

It needed lots of TLC,lots of sanding,a beautiful selection of colours from my stash of paints,mixed with some imagination,patience and varnish! And finally it was finished and looking just beautiful in its jewel like colours!

It is now listed in my new Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/BohemianBlessed and i shall continue working away in my Derbyshire Studio to create more treasure from finds to add there too 🙂

Blessings,Fiona Gypsy